Yemuka, Sankum and others did their best to undermine my standing in the court of Vang Khan. However, Vang Kahn new that I was doing his bidding and that he could depend upon me. On the other hand Vang Kahn knew very well about the success of my military exploits. This made him nervous – – – he also knew quite well that it was not good to have an underling who had the military power to unseat him; even though I had no such intentions.

I later learned that Vang Khan had become so concerned about my military prowess that he had considered cutting off my supply lines coming from Karakorom. He was quickly advised that I did not need any supply lines because I was feeding my troops with the plunder I gathered during my forays in the mountains and plains.

Yemuka, once more, attempted another ploy. He told Vang Khan that I was planning an attack against Vang Khan’s troops in a certain location. Vang Khan rushed off to that location only to be attacked by some of Yemuka’s friends. One of Vang Khan’s emissaries broke away and a message was sent to me that Vang Khan needed protection.

YEMUKA

I wasted no time in reaching Vang Khan’s side and winning the battle. This made Vang Khan realize that I was on his side and our good relationship was firmly settled.

Poor Yemuka, he was so stupid!

As a show of strong relationship one of my sons was pledged to marry a daughter of Vang Khan and one of Vang Khan’s sons was pledged to marry one of my daughters.

I was a favorite among my men, but others feared me. I could be merciless if an enemy was merciless with any clan who had pledged honor to Vang Khan. Many rumors and lies were voiced about me. That was fine with me; the more fear I could instill in others the less battles I had to fight.

One such rumor was that I once had captured an entire clan. It had been said that after I had sold all the children and women into slavery and had slaughtered all the animals in order to feed my troops, it was time to deal with the leaders. Now remember – – – this is what has been said. I neither admit it nor do I deny it. The story worked in my favor.

As the story goes, I filled several cauldrons with water and then built a fire under each one. Once the water was boiling I threw each of the leaders into the cauldrons – – – head first. True story or not, I sort of liked the reputation that I earned with it. Like I said, fear is a great motivator.

I have heard that Yemuka and Sankum often repeated this story in order to spread lies about me. How stupid they were. The stories only made other clans more fearful of me than they were of Yemuka and Sankum.

I was a dashing, handsome and fearless leader. These qualities served me well.

The men also loved my brilliant war schemes and plans. Those that died while fighting with me – – – well – – – they said nothing of course.

And those who survived became even more loyal because they knew our battles were well fought and daring. Some of the battles were fought on the edge of defeat; therefor, those who survived lived to brag about how brave they were.

Glory was always at their fingertips – – – and the edge of their tongues.

I made sure that Vang Khan knew I was on his side. What he thought of Yemuka and Sankum’s tales was up to them to weave.

The best way to keep on Vang Khan’s good side was to support him in his efforts and to keep the enemy away from his door. I did this by patrolling the outer edges of his territory. I controlled a large contingent of troops. Some of these were from my own territory and I also had a small contingent of special guards who protected me. In addition, Vang Khan allotted some of his troops to me. Also, there were several hundred more who were volunteers. They had heard of my military leadership and decided to voluntarily join me.

I had four generals – – – also khans – – – who were loyal to me. I named these four “My Intrepids.”

With this large contingent I roamed the perimeter of Vang Khan’s territory. Our battles were sometimes to protect out pastures, at other times we battled for vengeance, for plunder or retaliation.

These forays took us into the mountains and at other times into the valleys or distant plains.

Yemuka! Remember him? He was the fellow from who I stole the princess, Vang Khan’s daughter. He had escaped from Karakorom during the battle when Vang Khan regained his throne. Yemuka had never forgotten the loss of the princess and his anger with me had turned to vengeance. He had hidden himself among various tribes as he planned a war against me.

YEMUKA

Yemuka had formed a friendship one of Vang Khan’s sons who had an axe to grind with his own father. This son’s name was Sankum. Some called him Sunghim or other various pronunciations; depending on the dialect of the speaker.

Yemuka and Sankum entered into secret negotiations after Yemuka had contrived to get Sankum on his side. Sankum had been convinced that I had taken his place in Vang Khan’s court. Therefore, they both had reason to dispose of me and retake their mistakenly rightful position.

It was reported that Yemuka had told Sankum “This newcomer, Temujin, is not only interfering with and curtailing your proper influence and consideration at the moment, but his design is – – eventually – – to circumvent and supplant you altogether. He has plans for making himself the sole heir of your father’s riches and influence, thereby robbing you of your rightful inheritance.”

I personally think that they also had designs on disposing of Vang Khan and simply taking over his throne.

Vang Khan and I remained good friends. He protected my lands and I; while I gave him my protection as an excellent general with a contingency of well-trained troops.

Word had finally come back to us that Erkekara had been killed in the battle of Karakorom – – along with several important chieftains. Other lesser chieftains had combined forces and wandered wherever the best pastureland could be found; this in order to raise their sheep, build Yurts and have water nearby.

There were often minor skirmishes between various clans. There were no rules to follow and no idea of states because the nomadic life was never associated with one piece of land. The clans drifted this way and that from the plains to the mountains; always seeking new pasture lands, avoiding or inciting wars, sometimes sharing common boundaries, and in general having a very feeble concept of loyalty.

Most chieftains appeared – – at times – – to have held sway with Vang Khan and this was to his advantage.

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Next post; #36 Yemuka and Sankum

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